College Student Persistence: A Multilevel Analysis of Distance Learning Course Completion at the Crossroads of Disability Status

Abstract

With over 15 million students enrolling in institutes of higher education, it is critical to understand the factors that lead to course completion and graduation. This becomes especially important when considering students with disabilities, as this is historically a vulnerable population. Modern technology and online classes may be one way to meet these needs. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether course completion rates differ when taking online versus traditional courses, among students with and without disabilities. The participants of the study were a purposive sample of 3,488 undergraduate and graduate students, from a comprehensive, midsized, Historically Black College located on east coast of the United States. Hierarchical general linear modeling was used to determine whether disability status and course delivery format were related to completion, while controlling for student-level and course-level variables. The results show that students were significantly less likely to complete online courses after controlling for individual level (e.g., gender, cumulative GPA, and previous course credit hours) and class level covariates. Yet, students with disabilities were just as likely as peers without disabilities to complete courses, and the cross-level interaction between disability status and delivery format was not statistically significant (i.e., course completion differences over delivery format does not statistically significantly differ over student disability status). The results have important implications for college students with disabilities.